


Nothing like blood to even things out

by dancingsynapses



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gun Violence, Major Character Injury, Sexual Tension, Soft Rio (Good Girls)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:00:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23108113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingsynapses/pseuds/dancingsynapses
Summary: Beth has lied so much, so quickly that she doesn't know how she'd ever be able to put things together again. But people are driven by instincts, and blood demands to be shed.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Comments: 55
Kudos: 202





	1. Blood demands blood

**Author's Note:**

> Writing this after I watched S3E3 which gave me a whole lot of ??? and also multiple times where I wanted to completely give up on the Brio ship (but I can't! and I won't!) because it seems the writers don't want them as end game.
> 
> I'm not sure how they are ever going to trust each other and recover from this web of lies that Beth keeps spinning just to keep herself alive. But you know what? If I can't have this on TV then I'll write it here instead.
> 
> There'll be spoilers in this story! So if you're holding out on Season 3 and don't want any spoilers, don't read it!

It took her only one try with Dean. One night where he came home drunk and amorous. That was all it took to give her Jane. Yet now, as she actively tries to conceive a child, she can't. She wants to wash every attempt with Dean from her body, peel them off her skin, but she can't. And it bothers her. Her hands are trembling as she sits on the couch, her bones still cold from the trip to the clinic with Rio. It had bought her some time. Rhea did. But still, she sits on the sofa, contemplating her inevitable death.

The look in his eyes when the doctor had congratulated them. The only crack in his facade she'd seen since he'd returned from the dead. It keeps replaying in her mind.

It isn't right. She knows.

It isn't right to bring a child into this world simply because she wants to stay alive. But there's nothing else she can do. The desperation reaching out for her throat, tightening it's grasp around her neck, making every waking moment nothing but a prolonged nightmare. She can't think of anything else except the thought of death knocking on her door, his words replaying in her head.

_We both know how this ends._

Looking out the window, she sees one of Rio's boys sitting on the picnic table in her yard, a constant reminder that the clock is ticking. He's keeping to his promise alright. Someone watching her twenty four hours a day, as though she's some sort of precious cargo or leverage he can't risk losing. It feels like she's trapped in a bell jar, a terrarium. The freedom an illusion, no escape under the clear glass shell.

She shuts her eyes, willing the thoughts away. She knows she'll have to tell him the truth eventually. It's just a matter of when. Plus, with Dean and the shotgun in her house...God, she doesn't even want to think about what could happen. She presses the heel of her palm into the sockets of her eyes roughly, stopping only when white dots filled her vision.

_"He's going to kill you Beth!"_

_"And what are you going to do when he does? Shoot him with your gun? We all know you're not capable of that Dean!"_

_"You don't know what I'm capable of."_

That conversion hadn't gone well, but she doesn't want to dwell on it. If Rio's coming for her, nothing will stop him. Definitely not Dean and his shotgun.

Rolling off the sofa, she walks to her bedroom, preparing for the routine of picking her kids up from school, settling them down for dinner and then finally to bed.

"Mummy! Can we have ice cream?"

Jane's high pitched voice pierces through the boisterous chit chat of little voices at the dining table. Looking at her daughter's empty dinner plate, Beth nods in affirmation, before setting up the step stool for her youngest to take her pick of flavours out from the freezer. It takes another hour or so for all four of the children to wind down, shower and then hop into their respective beds.

Kissing Jane and Emma on the forehead, then peeking into Kenny and Danny's room to make sure they are already settled, she trudges down the stairs to finish up on the dishes.

"Don't you dare take another step."

She freezes. That's Dean's voice. And even without rounding the corner to the door, she already knows who he is talking to.

Rio looks bored, annoyed even, while Dean stands in the doorway with his stupid shotgun aimed straight at him. How he reacts so cooly to the act of being held of gunpoint alludes her.

"Dean, put down the gun." Beth hisses as she moves towards him slowly, her hands raised in a calming manner. In his flannel pyjamas and robe, shotgun raised, he looks ridiculous. She counts to five, waiting for the false bravado to slip from his face. Except it never does, his usually harmless demeanour replaced with one that she is foreign to. He'd never looked at anyone the way he looks now.

"Yeah, carman, listen to your wife." Rio huffs out in between a condescending chuckle as Beth turns her head to glare at him. Does this man have zero self preservation instincts or what?

"Don't do this. The children are inside. Dean, please. Don't do this." Elizabeth pleads, her hands shaking, her heart racing a mile a minute. Who is this man in front of her and what had he done with her weak, docile, cowardly husband? She wonders if this is what jealousy does to a man, drive him to the precipice of insanity even though it was obvious he has no love left for her.

Through the months that had passed since she found out he'd cheated and lied and lost all their money. Beth had come to a stark realisation that he didn't love her anymore. Even through all his pleas for them to go back to normal, to share the same bed again. It'd been more about regaining a sense of normalcy, an easy familiarity, than having anything to do with love.

And then when Book Club had started, he'd amped up on his game. Threatening her with their children, guilt tripping her for endangering their family, insisting she chose between him or crime. It wasn't love. It was a desire to lay claim on her. And disappointingly, Beth had gone with it. It had been the easiest way out of an increasingly messy situation.

But right now, this Dean right in front of her? Possessed by anger of the knowledge that despite having her right next to him, in their bed, she couldn't have been further way - she thinks he'd be capable of pulling the trigger.

"Step aside Beth. I'm going to fix this. I'm going to kill him and everything will be ok again. Move!"

Dean steps forward to shove her aside, but she doesn't move. There's about a meter and a half between him and Rio, and he thinks about what that guy from the shop, _Sean_ had said. That the shotgun works best within a meter's range. But he'll take his chances right now. So he side steps and takes his aim, squeezing the trigger when he sees a clear shot.

But then Elizabeth's moving too, faster than he'd ever seen her move, her legs pushing her into some sort of backwards leap and she moves sideways till her body's in front of him and then he sees it, her eyes wide open in shock, the impact of the bullet against her body.

She crumples almost immediately, the shot gun shell exploding into a violent constellation of shrapnel that buries in her torso. Rio watches as the blood blooms, staining her navy shirt a dark shade of crimson. He catches her before she hits the ground, her body limp in his arms as she reaches out aimlessly to grab him, sounds of distress escaping from her chest. She tries talking, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, her blue eyes wide as her hand reaches for her middle.

_Fuck. He'd actually pulled the trigger._

He brushes her palm away, replacing it with his own, yelling for Dean to get a cloth, a rag, anything he can use to slow the bleeding. He would shoot the motherfucker right now if his hands weren't holding her, the warm sticky feeling of bleed seeping through his fingers.

She's still conscious. That's a good thing right? Rio doesn't know much about shotguns, the firearm usually way too flashy to be used under any circumstance, but he knows they are messy, the shells exploding into a thousand tiny pieces once fired, lodging themselves in any possible surface, causing extensive albeit shallower damage. He widens his hands, thanking his ma for blessing him with big ones that covers her bleeding body. She feels soft under his palm, as soft as he remembered. Then he shakes those thoughts away. He needs to keep her alive. Taking the tea towel from Dean, he presses it against her firmly as she lets out a whimper, tears escaping from the corner of her eyes.

In the background, he hears the children shouting from inside the house, obviously awakened by the loud gunshot. Staring straight at Dean, he growls at him to keep the children inside while he pulls out his phone and dials for an ambulance.

"I'm..sorry." Beth gurgles under her breath, blood leaking from the side of her mouth. Funny how he'd been back for awhile now and the apology had aways lingered at the tip of her tongue, her pride keeping her from letting them escape. She is sorry. Sorry since she pulled the trigger the first time, even sorrier for the other two. But he'd tried to kill her, and the apologies had been swallowed, the guilt buried under fear and resentment, but never truly went away. And now, while she lay in his arms, blood pooling on the gravel of her driveway, it is all she thinks about.

"No-n-no no, don't you say that Elizabeth. Your sorries don't mean anything to me. You gotta make it up to me yeah?" Shit. The way she had muttered her apology sounded like she was putting together her final words and it makes him feel uneasy, his skin beginning to sweat even under the cool weather. She lifts her hand to cup his face, the tears spilling from her eyes freely now.

"I'm happy you're alive...really. Sorry I shot you...and lied to you." She says weakly as her eyes drift down to her torso, and immediately he knows. He clenches his jaw in annoyance. He'd known she was lying to him from the beginning. A lousy excuse put forward to save herself. He just needed time to prove it. Plus, it was fun to torture her about it, sending Mick to watch her every move, dropping pre-natal vitamins and diet plans on her counter top just to frazzle her. He thought they'd have more time. Didn't expect her dumbass husband to come breaking out of the house, shot gun in hand. Didn't expect him to actually pull the trigger. Didn't expect her to be stupid enough to be his human shield.

"You think I didn't know that? Hell, Elizabeth, I'm insulted. Now you owe me two yeah? So don't think about going anywhere till you pay me back." He jokes with her, keeping his tone as casual as he can while trying to keep her from moving in his arms. Where is the goddamned ambulance?

She chokes out a laugh, the blood mixing with spit bubbling from her mouth like some sort of sick halloween joke. Then her eyes start to close and Rio feels his own heart leaping out of his chest.

"Yo, stay with me yeah Mama, don't you go to sleep!" He's shaking her now, just gently, torn between wanting to keep her conscious and not wanting her to bleed out right there in his arms. Her eyes flutter open briefly and there's a look of calm and happiness in them when she focuses on his face that hits him in his gut like a sucker punch. Then, he hears the sirens blare and she's on a stretcher, oxygen mask on her face and he's right there beside her, hands bloodied, shirt stained, holding her hand between his as they speed off to the hospital.

He doesn't see her for two hours. Ruby and Annie show up and they are furious with him, but he's wearing that look on his face that also scares them, so they don't speak to him even though Annie rushes up to him a few times looking like she's about to punch him. Ruby stops her though and they repeat this motion a few times until the cops show up.

His mind is blank. For someone who always has a backup plan, he's completely unarmed right now, the look in her eyes as she passed out haunting his every thought. Her husband is here too, his face paler than when he tried to beat the crap out of him back when she turned him in to the feds. His hands shaking as he explains to Ruby and Annie that he doesn't know what happened. Playing the victim card, saying he was with the kids when he heard the gun go off.

He should leave. He should leave right now, but there's something keeping him tethered to the floor and he knows it's got everything to do with the woman stuck behind the surgical room doors. He should leave right now or it'll end badly. He just knows it. Instead, he picks up his phone and sends a quick text to Gretchen and then he hears it.

"He did it, he shot her." Dean points to him as two police come to his side, reading him his rights as they cuff him and escort him from the room.


	2. Blood beneath our fingernails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth lies on the operating table as Rio, Beth and Annie wait it out in the hallway. A decision is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly written to explore Rio's state of mind. I hope I did him justice!

“I’m not saying anything till my lawyer arrives. So you can either sit here and waste your time watchin’ me, or you can leave and grab a donut yeah?”

_ Dumbass cops. _

Rio’s sitting in the interrogation room with a pudgy looking detective that’s been dropping threats left right and centre in order to coax a confession out of him. Cops are dumb. Seriously. Did they think they’d be able to scare him into signing some wacked out admission _? _ He scoffs at the absurdity, leaning back against the metal chair and crossing his legs - the complete picture of ease.

Firstly, they won’t be able to find any evidence because  _ surprise!  _ He didn’t shoot Elizabeth. And second, that dumbass Dean had bought the shotgun and his fingerprints were all over it. This situation was temporary and he wouldn’t even need Gretchen’s help if it wasn’t for the fact that he wanted to be out of this room right now and back in the hospital with Elizabeth.

Thinking about her made his chest tighten.  _ Elizabeth.  _ She’d really done it. Jumped in front of him like some selfless fool, taking a bullet, hell, a shotgun shot right to the stomach without even thinking. What the hell was that? He clenches his jaw in frustration, not sure if he’s more annoyed by the fact that she’d almost died for him, or more worried by the fact that  _ she almost died.  _ Well, not almost. He wasn’t sure yet, which is why he needs to be out of this room and back there with her.

He taps his feet impatiently as Gretchen finally strolls in. She’s exchanging a few words with Detective Dumbass and just like that, within minutes, he’s out of there. 

She shoots him a look of complete disdain and he can almost hear her saying it.  _ I told you to stay away.  _ But he doesn’t even spare her another glance as he picks up his belongings and walks out of the station, peeling out of the parking lot with only one destination in mind.

Hell, Gretchen’s fucking expensive. She might as well be an extortionist, because she certainly hustles like one. But damn is she worth it. Because before even stepping back into the halls of the hospital, he sees Dean being escorted from the premises, hands cuffed behind his back, blabbering about how he had bought the shotgun but never used it, that he could never shoot his wife.

_ Fucking fool. _

He smirks in his direction when their eyes meet, even raises his hand to do a little wave goodbye before heading up to level three where he knows where Elizabeth is. The voice of Dean yelling in the background adding a spring to his step, even if it’s just a small one.

Rio’s accosted by Annie, her small frame barreling towards him the moment he steps out of the elevator. Her eyes are brimming with tears, her cheeks and neck flushed with what he assumes is anger as she practically screams at him.

“What happened back there! Why does my sister have a hundred shotgun pellets lodged in her body! Why did they arrest you AND Dean? God, I know you’re going to kill me, but TELL ME or...or... I’ll kill you before you shoot me.” Her finger guns are pressing into his chest and he wants to slap her hands away.. maybe even break off those fingers, but he composes himself.

Ruby tries to hold her back, but he can feel the anger and confusion radiating off her too. Guess when it comes to Elizabeth and being capped by a scary gangbanger, their love for her wins. He contemplates putting on  _ that look _ , the one he uses when he wants to end all conversations. And he wants to. Not wanting to explain anything to anyone, especially not Elizabeth’s little sister who has a penchant for talking the house down. But he remembers the blood seeping out from under her as he held her body in his arms, remembers the way she’d apologized like it was the last fucking thing she’ll ever say and he caves.

He scowls though, mentally preparing himself for the barrage of questions coming for him, but then he takes a deep breath and answers.

“Carman tried to shoot me, but I guess your sister was faster.” He shrugged, hoping that this would be a good enough explanation for now.

“W-w-what do you mean? What did Beth do!” Her eyes are wide open and it reminds Rio of a cartoon character with overexaggerated features. He sighs, then gestures with his hand to add on to his explanation.

“She jumped in front of me. Got shot instead.”

Annie’s mouth gapes as she lets out a few sounds that he supposes are words, but he can’t understand them. Ruby looks at him as though he’s insane.

“So...any updates? Is she ok?” He asks when he realises they won’t be speaking anytime soon.

“The doctor came out about fifteen minutes ago, said she’s still stable for now, but there are too many pieces inside of her, it’s gonna take a while.” Ruby answers on Annie’s behalf, before slumping into one of the chairs lining the sides of the hallway, hands clasped in front of her as if in a prayer. Annie follows suit before laying her shoulder on Ruby's, eyes closing in defeat.

The last thing he wants to do is spend the next few hours with Elizabeth’s girls in the hallway of a hospital, her blood still trapped under his nails and drying on his shirt, but it’s the only way he’ll know if she’s ok. So, he stays.

Rio’s gone to church before. Regularly even, his Ma making it a Sunday requirement back when he was a child. Sometimes even joking that she needed to ask for forgiveness after bringing four little devils into the world. He even remembers some of the verses too well. 

Even so, he’s never been particularly religious, which is why he’s surprised to find himself repeating the verses over and over in his head.  _ God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  _ Verses for protection, for healing. For her. The St. Christopher medal he wears around his neck - a request from his mother - burning against his skin.

-

At the two hour mark, Annie leaves to get sustenance from the vending machines and he’s fighting the fatigue, barely able to keep his eyes open. When she comes back with a cup of coffee and a granola bar for him, he quirks his brows at her, but takes her peace offering, tilting his chin up in appreciation.

“Just so you know...she never really wanted to shoot you. I mean, no excuses, she did do it. But it wrecked her, you know?” Annie mumbles through her sandwich as Ruby looks at her in disbelief, he can almost hear her trying to tell the small blonde to shut her damn mouth.

But Annie doesn’t stop.

“She couldn’t stop thinking about it, drowned herself in bourbon. Then when she realised she didn’t deserve to be happy after  _ that _ , she went back to being Bethie again. Doing what Dean wanted, pretending to be the perfect wife and mother. It was like she wanted to make herself as unhappy as she could, like it would be a good punishment for her.”

She talks with her mouth full and Rio can’t look at her without wanting to take the sandwich from her hand and dump it into the nearest bin.

“So what now? If she even makes it out of there, you forgive her?”

Does he? Can he? He doesn’t know. But he knows that if someone walked out of the operating theatre right now, he’s hoping they’ll tell him she’s alright. It’s messed up. The things she does to him. The longing, the hate, the anger, the frustration. It’s like he’s tethered to her and no matter how he tries to extricate himself from this web between them, he only ends up getting more tangled in it. But he doesn’t want to tell them that, so he changes the topic.

“So...if both of you are here, who’s wit’ the kids?” They know he’s avoiding the question. But he’s genuinely concerned about them, no kid deserves to be without their father and mother. He thinks of Marcus at Rhea’s, tucked into his blanket, holding that ratty stuffed dinosaur he’d had since birth and his heart clenches.

“Oh, Stan’s with them. They’re all at my place right now.” Ruby answers, the thought of Stan handling six kids alone, four of them probably traumatized to hell makes her a little worried and guilty, but she doesn’t want to be anywhere else but here.

“Right right. That’s good.”

That’s good? That’s all he can come up with? Fuck, he’s turning soft and he can feel it. Can see them registering it in their minds too, the way they exchange glances with each other and share those weird loaded looks. But it’s too late now. They already know he’s got a soft spot for her since he’s been sitting on his ass for hours in this hallway like he’s got nothing better to do. Whatever, he’ll just threaten them with something else later.

He pulls out his phone and requests an update from Gretchen, effectively ending the conversation.

It takes another hour or so, before someone steps out of the operating theatre, exhaustion clearly written on his face. But it’s not like the three of them are faring any better.

Annie and Ruby are surrounding the doctor and RIo makes out a few words from where he sits. She’s stable, even though she’s not out of the woods yet. The next 24 hours are critical.

He lets go of a breath he didn’t even know he’s holding and slumps back into the seat. She’s ok for now. And suddenly he feels a wave of emotions wash over him and his hands begin to shake even though they are placed firmly on his thighs. They go to see her, leaving him alone outside and he’s glad they didn’t invite him to come along. He can barely stand from the weight of tonight’s events and even with the relief that had come from hearing she’s ok, he needs a moment to compose himself.

The blood’s all dry now, leaving his shirt stiff and scratchy, and he’s glad he’s wearing black so he doesn’t have to see the mark she’d left on him. He feels it though, and it’s like she’s seared herself onto him.

He only steps into her room after they leave, both deciding to head home and freshen up before returning. She’s still asleep when he lays his eyes on her, the monitors beeping noisily, an oxygen mask attached to her face. She’s pale and her hair is matted to her forehead, damp with sweat and he clocks the blood caked under her nails the same way they are buried under his.

His fingers ache to touch her, but he doesn’t move, just stands next to her bed watching the way her chest rises and falls with each breath she takes. Funny how up till the moment she jumped in front of him, he was still toying with the idea of ending her. And hours later, he’s praying for her to be ok. The irony isn’t lost on him, but that’s how they’re always going to be right? Every time they are drawn closer to each other, one of them does something that ends with them taking ten steps away. 

He’s tired of this. Tired of fighting the urge of wanting her, tired of replacing the raging neediness with reckless decisions to push her away. No matter what she does to him, that tug he feels whenever he thinks of her never goes away. The past few months, it’s been buried under a storm of rage and revenge. Being away from her had made it easier for him to ignore that, it’d given him time to plan, scheme and conjure up the various ways he’d be able to untwine himself from her. But not now.

He’s too tired to push her away anymore. Not after she’d jumped in front of a gun for him. Not after he’d spend hours waiting to hear that she’s going to be ok. His mind is made. 

Sighing, he moves to unclasp the chain he’s been wearing all his life, the weight of the medal almost scorching against the flesh of his palm.

He leans towards her, then presses a kiss on her forehead, fingers brushing the stray strands of hair away. Moving his hands around her neck, he fastens the silver chain around it, admiring the way the tether looks as if it belongs there against her delicate skin. The crucifix sits right above the swell of chest, resting perfectly flush against it.

_ Protection. _

He takes one last look at her, then turns to walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to do so much research on shotgun wounds and the way they work that I feel like I could take over Sean’s job as a firearms salesperson right now. 
> 
> Thank you for all the love and comments! I'm really flattered. The chapter was getting a little too long so I decided to write about Rio and Elizabeth's interaction post shooting in another chapter instead :)


	3. We're partners now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "For so long, she’d felt completely alone, when Ruby had Stan and Annie had Ben, and all she felt was a crushing sense of emptiness when she returned home with no one to hold. Her children too young to even vaguely understand the depth of her sadness and her husband too caught up by himself to even comprehend the realities of her life.
> 
> But not anymore. Even then, she wasn’t sure what they were, besides the fact that whatever they had...it worked. And it worked really fucking well."
> 
> It's the epilogue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short chapter, but it's the happily ever after the fairytale lover in me wants.
> 
> They're not perfect, god no. Never. And they both have wounds that need to heal. It takes time, but they can do it together.

_ Squeak! _

Elizabeth frowns as she registers something soft and squishy under her feet. One of Jane’s toys has escaped the toy chest again and the almost deafening sound it makes when stepped on makes Beth cringe. 

Bending forward to pick up the toy, she freezes in the motion as a sharp shooting pain pierces through her stomach and causes her to drop to her knees.

It’s been almost four months since she’s been discharged from the hospital and yet, she still doesn’t feel right. Sometimes it’s nightmares that she jolts awake from, never able to go back to sleep after that. And other times, it’s a dull ache in her stomach that doesn’t seem to go away no matter how many painkillers she seems to take.

And then there are times like this, when she assumes a new position too quickly, and it feels as if there’s still shrapnel in her body, cutting into flesh. Her fingers find the silver pendant hanging from her chest and her thumb rubs against the raised carvings on it repeatedly, the familiar motion helping to calm her down and easing the pain.

She registers the sound of the door clicking open, but she can’t rise up from her position on the floor yet, so she just stills, eyes closed and willing away the nausea that’s set in from the pain.

He’s by her side almost instantaneously, his arms wrapped around her shoulders as he helps her up slowly, with an overly rehearsed sort of ease. She leans her weight into his body, allowing him to support her as he picks up Jane’s toy and tosses it back into the toy box on the way up to her room.

It’s almost routine for them now. She strips herself of her clothing and he steps in to steady her when she has trouble with her pants, then the water’s running hot, lavender epsom salts go in the bath and she steps in, him coming in after her.

“Feelin’ better?” he drawls out as his fingers draw soothing little circles on her abdomen. She nods, then leans her head back against him as his other hand toys with the little silver pendant on her chest.

“Mmhmm”

The water’s way too hot for his liking, but he’s learnt to tolerate it over the months, letting it undo the tension in his shoulders, and it helps even more that there’s a warm body right in front of his.

-

The first time they meet after she’s discharged, she’s barely holding the fort together. She has all the kids at home and half of them are down with a bug that’s making her wish she was still hospitalized instead.

She’d called Annie and Ruby for help, but all the kids had caught the same thing and while they’d wanted to come over, she’d insisted they stay home to deal with it instead. 

Rio had dropped by unannounced while she was knee deep in dirty dishes and had picked up the laundry without her even having to ask. Then, while she was putting them all to bed, he’d ordered takeout and insisted she sit down and take a break.

When she awoke five hours later, the dishes had been done, laundry hung and he was lying right next to her on the couch, a hand hung casually over her waist.

They’d fallen into a groove after that, somehow the scars hurt lesser when they’re together. He notices the way she holds her body different on a bad day and he helps make it better when they lay together at night.

She notices too. How he comes back from a run, frustration seeping deep in his bones, because despite the time that has passed, he still hasn’t gone back to his old pace yet. The injured lung still struggling to keep up, the scar in his shoulder painfully reminding him that it takes time.

They take time.

So she makes it better. The first time she laid her fingers on the three bullet wounds, he’d flinched. Almost as if her touch had caused them to reopen and bleed all over the sheets again. But now, she treats them tenderly, rubbing soothing lotions and salves over them when they ache with a depth she feels in a wound of her own.

And when it’s not the physical pain that ails them, but the psychological ones, they find a way to cope too.

Sometimes it’s angry, rough and unhinged, when he brings up the unmentionable incident and she defensively retorts. But most of the time, it’s slow, languid and it helps fill up the chinks they both carry in their souls.

She’s not sure what this is, what they are, but he’s the one she calls when she’s running late for Emma’s pick up or when she can’t make it to Kenny’s swim meets. And somehow, she’s been to as many of Marcus’ drawing classes as he’s been to Jane’s ballet.

But children aside, he’s also the one she turns to when she’s frustrated with life. When she comes home after working for him, or if she’s able to convince herself, working  _ with  _ him, and it feels like there’s blood on her hands she’ll never be able to wash away, he’s the one she seeks out too. He doesn’t treat her like fragile glass, doesn’t sugar coat his words to make her feel better. Instead, he deals her the truth bombs the way he always does and even though it makes her angry and furious, it also helps her come to terms with things instead of just pushing them away.

For so long, she’d felt completely alone, when Ruby had Stan and Annie had Ben, and all she felt was a crushing sense of emptiness when she returned home with no one to hold. Her children too young to even vaguely understand the depth of her sadness and her husband too caught up by himself to even comprehend the realities of her life.

But not anymore. Even then, she wasn’t sure what they were, besides the fact that whatever they had...it worked. And it worked really fucking well.

  
  


“So...what is this?” She asks him while spearing an asparagus with a fork, watching him scarf down the noodles from a takeout box.

“Hmm? It’s that Chinese place Danny likes, with the fortune cookies that have sesame seeds in them.” He answers back as if she’d suddenly suffered from memory loss.

Shaking her head, she sighs as she puts down her fork, clinking it noisily against the countertop.

He sets his chopsticks down as well, before quirking an eyebrow at her while swallowing the last of his food.

She huffs in frustration, knowing this conversation will go nowhere if she doesn’t spell it out explicitly.

“I mean...what are we?” She immediately blushes, thinking of the one time Kenny had asked what it had meant to  _ define the relationship _ or DTR in teen lingo.

Rio breaks into a half smirk as he narrows his eyes at her, chin resting in the flesh of his palm.

“You askin’ me to be your boyfriend, Mami?” He teases her and watches as her blush deepens, extending down her neckline and imagines it blooming across her chest.

“N-n-no. That’s not what I meant.” She crosses her hands defensively as she averts his gaze, her nose doing that little tilt when she’s obviously trying to conceal her embarrassment.

“Well, we could be anything you want. What do you want, Elizabeth?” He reaches out to tilt her jaw towards him, so she can’t avoid his gaze any longer. Meeting it, she’s taken aback by what she finds there. It’s no longer teasing, and the sincerity in them surprises her.

“I mean...boyfriend seems a little too...juvenile. But it'd be good to be...something.” She blabbers as her eyes dart around wildly. It’s not that she was expecting a specific answer from him, hell, she didn’t even know how to label this herself. But somehow, she’s been wanting a little...more.

His smirk breaks into a full grin, eyes almost twinkling with mischief as he nods to her little ramble, holding both her hands in his.

“A’ight, I hear you. How ‘bout we be partners this time forreal?” 

“50-50?” She throws the question back at him as she feels her own mouth start quirking into a smile.

Before he can reply, the sound of Jane whining from upstairs breaks them from their conversation as they look at each other questioningly.

“Partners right? Means it’s your turn. I went up when Marcus wanted hot cocoa just now.” 

Rio groans, before wiping his hands down on the tea towel, then leaning close to her and cupping her ass through her thin summer dress.

“You owe me, and I’m coming to collect.” Then, he’s up the stairs and all she hears is Jane giggling while he pretends to check for monsters in her closet.

_ Partners. _

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo, this is one of my favourites! Domestic!Brio always has my heart, so I made them endgame. Thank you for reading, it really means a lot to me. I never ever thought I'd be writing anything, because for as long as I remember, I've always only been a reader on AO3. 
> 
> But contributing to this fandom makes me really proud too! So thank you for reading, commenting and leaving kudos! You guys are the best :)


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